Verizon to Court: Don’t Ban Samsung Imports

Verizon asked a California Court to block Apple’s filing for a preliminary injunction blocking the import of Samsung’s Android-based smartphones and tablets in the United States on Friday. Verizon claimed, according to Foss Patents, that banning the sale of Samsung’s products would hamper its own LTE network development, and would have a negative impact on upgrades to emergency response networks.

Apple and Samsung have been locked in a legal battle over patent infringement claims for several months. Both companies have alleged that the other’s mobile devices use patented technologies without proper licensing, and have filed lawsuits against each other in the U.S. and other countries.

Verizon doesn’t want Apple blocking Samsung phones in the U.S.

Verizon filed its amicus, or friend of the court, brief with the Northern District Court in California and could be a move to protect its own business interests. The cell service provider offers several smartphones based on Google’s Android OS, and the only 4G LTE phones it offers are Android-based.

Verizon also gained early access to Google’s Android OS 2.0 with its exclusive Motorola Droid deal.

The company is also the only other iPhone 4 carrier in the U.S. along side AT&T.

A German court recently upheld an injunction blocking the sale of Samsung’s Galaxy Tab 10.1 tablet in the country, and the company filed an appeal in hopes of overturning that ruling.

Apple was also awarded a temporary injunction through a Dutch court blocking the sale of some Galaxy devices in the European Union, and Samsung has agreed to postpone sales of its Galaxy Tab 10.1 tablet in Australia until the end of September.

So far there isn’t any word on whether or not the court will accept Verizon’s filing, or if the filing will sway the court’s decision on Apple’s injunction request.

I don’t particularly care for Verizon, but a loss of their only LTE capable devices at this date doesn’t seem to bold well for their attempts to deliver competitive network services to their subscribers when you consider that HSPA+ and WiMAX devices are already on the market for AT&T, T-mobile, and Sprint. Verizon could possibly be the most harmed of the big four carriers should Samsung Android phones be blocked in the US.

John Dingler, artist1:46 PM EDT, Sep. 26th, 2011Guest

Hi Jeff,
It seems to this artist that Verizon’s alleged claim ...“that banning the sale of Samsung?s products…would have a negative impact on upgrades to emergency response networks…” seems to have nothing to do with the core of the issue which is infringement. However, it does sound like a desperate appeal to emotions, hence a fallacious argument against Apple. The manipulation of the court’s emotions is weak ammo, revealing to Apple that it likely has a weak case against it. Apple is grateful for Samsung’s aid in its case against Apple.